Overall hate crime down, but anti-Muslim attacks on the rise in Toronto

A report from Toronto police says incidents of anti-Muslim attacks and vandalism peaked in November following the terror attacks in Paris.

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Torstar News Service file

A small group of people from various backgrounds and faiths gathered at the Christmas Tree in Nathan Phillips Square to "spread joy" during this Christmas season. The event was organized by a Muslim woman, Farheem Khan as a way of battling the anti-Muslim narrative unfolding in some Western countries.

A new Toronto police report draws a link between anti-Muslim attacks, the attacks in Paris and the arrival of Syrian refugees.

Verbal and physical attacks tied to Islamophobia spiked in November, the report says. Overall, 22 hate crimes were reported that month, almost double the number reported a year earlier.

A variety of incidents grabbed headlines at the time, including that of a Muslim women who was assaulted in front of a school and others who were harassed while riding the TTC.

“There was a particularly tense few weeks where Muslim women were trying to avoid walking alone or taking transit alone or even going out in public alone,” said Safwan Choudhry, a spokesman for the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Toronto and one of the organizers of the Je Suis Hijabi campaign.